You are not a Christian

I have a bit of a bug, just a small itch I need to scratch. I tell you my dander is raised, my scalp needs to be scratched; all day I have been thinking of our Supreme Court and just how un-Supreme they truly our. I truly do believe it is time for all of us to take a long hard look at who we are as a nation, get up off our proverbial and begin to do something about the nation we want to be rather than simply complain. If we are unwilling to do something, we have absolutely no right to complain about the outcome.

No Corporation is a Christian and I can prove it, here are the core principles of being a Christian or living within the body of Christ.

Professing a belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and following his teachings.

Baptism into the body (church) or religious fellowship (it should be noted this is not required in all Christian sects).

Evangelize and bring others to the body of Christ.

Attend all church assemblies and give (tithe).

Follow Church discipline

Follow the will of God, as defined by the Church

Read the ‘Word’ (Bible) regularly

Pray frequently, confessing your sins to God and / or the Body (Church or its representative)

Live an upright and moral life, giving up all worldly goods and desires to follow the teachings of the “Word”.

Follow proper relations with other people including:

Family

Community, people in need

Civil Government

Church, religious government

Business

There is no Corporation, not a single solitary one that is a Christian or for that matter any other Religion, what we have is human people who have decided the Constitution doesn’t matter unless it is convenient. What we have are five members of the Supreme Court who have decided they will strip any person with a uterus of their right to self-determination in favor of satisfying the political machinations of the Right and the racist intent of those who would do anything to deny this President a legacy.

Hobby Lobby = Hypocrisy

Hobby Lobby does business with China in fact nearly their entire inventory has a ‘Made in China’ sticker on it somewhere. Yes the nation with a low human rights rating for the manner in which people, especially women are treated, this is Hobby Lobby’s primary trade partner. Hobby Lobby somehow holds their nose despite, or maybe it is because of the execrable way in which China treats women, going so far as to encourage selective abortions, eliminating females in the womb.

Hobby Lobby does business with a nation that encourages abortion to the tune of approximately thirteen (13) million per year.

David Green, CEO Hobby Lobby

Nevertheless, when it came to providing for women’s health, providing birth control to their employees Hobby Lobby and their proselytizing CEO, David Green had something else entirely in mind and that was simply, “No”. Not just No, but Hell to the No. Never mind his 401K invested in Pharma companies that make all the methods and drugs he refuses to cover for his employees, including two that cover surgical abortions, that doesn’t count. Never mind the insurance he provides his employees covers Viagra and Cialis (can’t have a problem getting it up now can we). But damn those women if they should want to preserve their body integrity, their ability to raise the children they have, their health or their future.

Screw them, literally.

The Supreme Court of the United States of America listened to the arguments and decided Hobby Lobby; a corporation is human enough to hold religious beliefs and can impose those beliefs on others. In this case, those beliefs include denial of specific birth control methods including the following:

‘Morning After Pills’, Ella and Plan B, and two intrauterine devices (IUDs)

Last, I checked, I could be wrong mind you, but last I checked the first Amendment of the US Constitution said the following:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Unless I am crazy, I might be, this would mean Hobby Lobby and its hypocritical proselytizing CEO do not get to impose their crazy azzed religious beliefs on others. Mind you, I know I could be wrong, I could be sitting in my own version of Hope Land, resting in my garden of Lavender surrounded by the sounds of birds and water fountains, but as much of an idealist as I am I don’t think I wear blinders. I believe I am reading the Constitution correctly, which means there is something far more nefarious at work.

What could it be that causes a body, in this case the Supreme Court of the United States to act in a manner so contrary to what we know is consistent with the law, common sense and all of this nations principles to now. What could cause case after case since 2009 to shift so far out to the Right, away from what is best for the majority and towards an ever-shrinking minority? What is the single element that has changed and what can we trace that change too?

On 20-January-2009 Republican leaders held a secret meeting during which the agreed to sabotage the US economy and the success of President Obama’s administration. Since that time, Congress both House and Senate have done everything and anything within their power to do so. During this same time, SCOTUS has colluded openly and without restraint to provide aid. One only need look at the record of decisions handed down on Voting Rights, Women’s Rights, Workers Rights including the most recent Harris v. Quinn.

The list of goes on, our losses go on and we remain seated in our chairs. We remain apathetic, tired and seemingly powerless.

Three branches of government colluding to destroy one man and his legacy. We sit and watch.

Three branches of government and their minions, the ignorant of our nation whipped into a frenzy because one Black Man dared to dream and dared to cause us to dream with him. Don’t want to hear it, yet I believe it might be true, three branches of government full of old, fearful and mean Caucasian men and women who see their power being lost and trying desperately to hang on determined to destroy the first African American President, his family and his legacy by any and every means necessary.

The rest of us? We are collateral damage.

Want to stop this before it is too late?

VOTE, in November VOTE. Don’t stay home but get out and VOTE. If you stay home we lose.

We can hope there are a few honest people left in the pulpit and in politics. The larger problem is whether the people in the street are smart enough and have enough sense. Faith is one thing, blind faith quite another.

Health care reform advocates have tried so hard to get the most inclusive coverages possible for people in their policies. That helps everyone with their unique or particular health issues and keeps premiums lower and does not allow health issue exceptions. Then these people come along and try to ruin the comprehensive coverage for everyone. If you do not want to use a service or procedure – don’t use it and leave everyone else alone. I don’t want my health care security threatened by anyone’s foolish religious beliefs imposed in the secular arena. Seems instead of freedom of religion we need freedom from religion imposition. I consider myself a born again Christian but church and state must remain separate. Religion belongs in the church house, not the state house.

You are exactly right Carl. This is nothing more or less than an attack on everyone’s freedom. But I think more to the point, this is an attack on this President, it isn’t about religion or ‘belief’, it is about causing this President to fail.

Reblogged this on Sunshinebright and commented:
The Hobby Lobby fiasco by the 5:4 vote of the SCOTUS is an insult to us all; not just to women. It is another in the never-ending “thumbing their noses” to our Constitution and smiling and shaking hands with Republicans who worry more about money, power and control – all going hand-in-hand. This so-called “do nothing” Congress has not “done nothing.” They have literally peeled away too many of our rights and privileges that we used to have and which we held dear.

A recent social media jpeg floating around says, “When your Jehovah’s Witness boss refuses to let you have a blood transfusion, when your Scientologist boss refuses to cover psychiatric medication, and when your Christian Scientist boss refuses to cover anything, thank your wonderful Supreme Court! The floodgates have been opened to allow an individual boss to dictate your healthcare choices.” I always find it helpful to substitute the noun or subject in question with an opposite to get a clearer understanding (as you did in your post). This is, in fact, cause for great concern–right along with “a corporation is a human being” for the sake of reducing taxes against corporations.

Another social media jpeg claimed, “In the 1950s, corporations paid nearly a third of the federal government’s bills. Last year, corporate income taxes accounted for less than a tenth of Uncle Sam’s total revenue.” I’ll have to research to find out if that is true; if it is, I’d venture that the latter SCOTUS ruling has had some bearing on that statistic.

It is true, I wish I had the links handy but it is indeed true. It is also true, were we to attack men’s health and body autonomy with the same rigor as women’s all of this would go away. We do not though.

Reblogged this on Blissfully Single and commented:
Up until now, I have kept my political beliefs to myself in my blog. The truth is, I am an ardent feminist. I am also a liberal. Devoutly liberal. I believe in equality. The one word that means more to me than anything else in life is equality. It is the fight for, the striving towards that very goal of equality that makes me the person I am. I believe the following blog post is extremely important. Please take the time to read it. Thank you.

Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Ah, Hobby Lobby … hypocrisy! SCOTUS … openly “bought” by the Right! Religion … not at all! War on women? Yes! Against the Constitution? Yes! Get the facts …. What to do? Get off our fannies and stand up against this! Protest & vote! Have our voices loudly heard!! This is not the end, it’s only starting …. we need to “wake the hell up”!

I don’t think it’s solely because of Obama that Republicans are fighting against woman’s choice. This has been a trend for decades before Obama. But either way, Republicans are not getting my vote until they learn to respect ALL of Constitution, not just the parts they like.

X, I wish I could say I don’t think the virulence with which the fight has picked up is because of something else. I don’t think it is. If it were just about women, I would say maybe you were right, it isn’t. It is about workers, it is about voting rights, it is about guns, it is about gender equality overall, it is about healthcare overall, it is about education, it is about immigration, it is about money in politics.

All of these things have hit SCOTUS since 2009, all have been 5:4 decisions in favor of the Right side of the aisle.

You have stated my thoughts and feelings succinctly. I wish I could have said it all. I applaud your courage to state the facts. I am going to follow your posts and I am reblogging this wonderful post. 🙂

Bravo! Well said. But my heart aches for what you are saying. It’s true. They are despicable and we are allowing them to have their way with our president. It’s sick. Anyway, don’t you think ‎Ruth Bader Ginsburg should step down while Obama is still in office so he can replace her with someone younger, much the same way that Sandra Day O’Connor did for Bush? Also, don’t now if you saw this quote that our blogger friend Jayne posted on her FB page but it goes like this: “Change ‘Christian’ to ‘Islam’ in the Hobby Lobby case, and the same people arguing for it would be frothing at the mouth against it. It’s called hypocrisy.” Interesting, indeed.

The problem with her stepping down now is our President would never get her replacement seated. Never. If she steps down now, before November the azzclowns in the Senate will block any nominee he puts forth until the elections certain they will retake the Senate and retain the House. They may be right. If that happens Monica the next two years, it is on. They will bring this country to its knees.

I’m not sure what to say other than thank you for your upstanding moral character. I have always professed to others that if they don’t vote, they have no right to complain. I still believe this. All else in my beliefs is a crap shoot right now, as you well know. I have always been independent. Never voting along party lines. Always voting for what I called “the lesser of two evils”. Right now I’m not sure what the evil really is. What I’ve always believed, or what I feel in my heart. Thank you for giving me a wake up call before election day. Keep up the good work.

Grant, most days ‘the lesser of two evils’ is the best we can do. But since 2009 the lesser of two evils has been a clear and obvious choice. The election of Barack Obama has drawn clear and distinct lines in the sand and there and some in this nation who have made clear they would see him fail not because of his policy or politics but because he is a Black Man. It is a terrible thing to see, but it is the simple truth. The longer he is in office the more true it becomes. Some would rather see this nation and every one in it fail and fail miserably than see this President succeed. It makes me want to weep.

From what I am seeing no one is going to loose anything. Obamacare will likely pick up the contraceptive tab if a family owned business decides not to on religious grounds. Not all businesses are family owned or closed family corporations. And even at that, not all businesses fit the SCOTUS judgement. I don’t read this as being an entity vs. religion but rather the owner(s) of the entity having a religious preference. But.. Congress has the authority to change things. The Court did what it was intended to do.. open debate and discussion.

Clearly you do not understand the ACA, have no understanding at all of what “Private” insurance in the Market Place means. Were you to understand what this means you would also understand a woman earning minimum wage at Hobby Lobby cannot afford to pay half or more of her medical premium and then additionally pay for her own intervention or doctor prescribed birth control.

You also clearly have no understanding of the operation of SCOTUS. They do not open debate, they close it.

If a family owned business has religious grounds? Really? Their religion shouldn’t be in other peoples private medical decisions. They are not a church they are not a medical provider. They are a business. Their religious beliefs have no place in the birth control decisions of a woman.

But then you are a man, so you don’t really have any place in that discussion either.

History agrees with you that when political power is controlled by religion freedom of conscience goes down the tube. I’m a Christian, but my beliefs are only protected when political power and religion are not combined,

I do not discuss what I do or do not believe Ian. What I do though is demand your right to practice your faith be protected so long as it does not infringe upon the freedom or safety of others.

When this nation was founded, it was based on certain principles. One of those principles was the right to free practice of religion. It was founded as a secular nation with no single religion or faith having dominion. We are so far from these principles today we might as well establish Vatican III and be done with it, pass me my veil.